Miyata or Centurion?

Well, my local bike co-op has two frames that would be a good fit. I don't know the years on either one.

The first is a Centurion LeMans 12 that is pretty banged up and would probably need paint or powder.

The second is a Miyata in good shape. It says Americana as the model on the top tube, but a google search didn't really turn anyhting up on this model. It is in great shape a cream paintjob with chrome fork ends.

This bike will moslty be for Sunday rides with some commuting and grocery/bar runs as well.

I don't know anything about the Miyata, but I do ahve a LeMans 12 that's sort of a bronze with burgandy trim. All I know is that it's made out of a straight gauge cromolly, which while not glamorous, is fine for getting around.
The miyata may be made out of something nicer.

Off the top, the Miyata sounds like the better choice just because it is in nice shape. However, you really have to look for tube stickers to know what your getting. I have a 1989 Le Mans thats DB Tange 2 cromo, but earlier LeMans had lesser tubing all the way down to no name hi tensile. Same with Miyata, although I've never heard of a Miyata Americana. Check for tube stickers, and post pics if you can.

Update

So the Miyata got grabbed up by someone else. The Centurion is straight guage chromoly (Tange Champion #5 Seemless tubing). In the 1984 Catalogue that Sheldon has online another model (sport DLX) with the same tubeset is weighing in at 28.2 lbs.

Does anyone have a guess as to how much of that weight is frame?

I assume that with my newish components and wheelset this will drop significantly. And I also assume that the ride will be a lot nicer than my current aluminum beast.

So the Miyata got grabbed up by someone else. The Centurion is straight guage chromoly (Tange Champion #5 Seemless tubing). In the 1984 Catalogue that Sheldon has online another model (sport DLX) with the same tubeset is weighing in at 28.2 lbs.

Does anyone have a guess as to how much of that weight is frame?

I assume that with my newish components and wheelset this will drop significantly. And I also assume that the ride will be a lot nicer than my current aluminum beast.

Anybody have a thought?

This is about 80% guess - 8+ lbs for the Centurion frameset.

My commuter is a Diamondback Crestline from a few years later (after WSI dropped the Centurion name, and started selling their road bikes as Diamondbacks). The DB's frame is also made from Tange straight-gauge Cr-Mo of some kind. The frame and fork, w/ headset but w/o bottom bracket, weigh 9.2 lbs on the postal scale at my office. I'm giving some downward adjustment for the fact that the Crestline is a touring frame with canti bosses. Built up with a mix of mid-level components and alloy wheels, it's in the range of 26 lbs by the "with and without" method on the bathroom scale (the whole bike is a bit unwieldy for the postal scale).

If you're looking for a good quality cheap frame, the Centurion Ironman from about '85-'89 was made with Tange #1 DB cro-mo tubing and rides great. I've had 3 of 'em, one I bot new in '86, and in the last few years I picked up one frame off eBay for $40 including shipping, and one a LBS gave me for free. Both needed a little elbow grease, but armed with rattle-cans and cheap decals they looked great. They built into 21-22 lb complete bikes with '80's components (Shimano 600, etc).

If you're looking for a good quality cheap frame, the Centurion Ironman from about '85-'89 was made with Tange #1 DB cro-mo tubing and rides great. I've had 3 of 'em, one I bot new in '86, and in the last few years I picked up one frame off eBay for $40 including shipping, and one a LBS gave me for free. Both needed a little elbow grease, but armed with rattle-cans and cheap decals they looked great. They built into 21-22 lb complete bikes with '80's components (Shimano 600, etc).

Thanks for the suggestion (and everyone's responses). If you want to sell one, you should send me a PM. I've been trolling ebay for about 2 months and looking seriously for the last one. Maybe my size is just too popular (53-54). As for locally, I'm keeping my eyes peeled, but I think Austin is a tough market.

I'm still going to keep looking, of course. Wrenching is almost as much fun as riding, so I can always switch everything over again if I find somethting better.